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OpenBike develops “operating system for bicycles”OpenBike.jpg

OpenBike develops “operating system for bicycles”

US company, partnering first with Marin, introduces common platform for powering and controlling electronic components
by Mat Brett
Tue, May 31, 2016 12:12
14

California-based OpenBike is partnering with Marin to build a bike with headlights, a phone mount, integrated automatic rear lights, turn signals and USB charging, everything powered and controlled via a “connected bicycle ecosystem” that’s also available to other bike companies.

OpenBike is designed to be a platform with a single battery that powers everything and charges as you ride, and a single network that allows various components to work together. It also allows different components to share access to apps and the cloud.

“Around the world more people are riding… Affluent markets are driving this growth and technology is advancing in tandem,” said Randall Jacobs, one of the founders of OpenBike, at the Highway1 Demo Day in San Francisco. 

“However, we have a problem because today when we add technology to our bicycles we quickly end up with a mess: separate batteries, little inter-operates, nothing connects. It’s heavy, it’s expensive and it’s a lousy user experience.

“What would we do with a clean slate? We would take all the things and integrate them into one system. We would start with the features that matter most to us like a headlight, a phone mount and USB charging. 

“We would have integrated tail lights, we would have a battery that can be removed for charging or secured and charged as you pedal, we would have controls that put everything at your fingertips so you never have to take your hands off the bar. We’d have sensors and software that turn lights on when dark and turn them off when you park to deter against theft. It would all be connected and would come as standard equipment from your favourite brands.”

Of course, you don’t have to have any power on your bike other than your own legs, but the idea of OpenBike is to simplify the user experience for those who do use multiple devices.

OpenBike has revealed that it is building the first batch of bikes to use the platform with Marin (we're working on more information on that), although the technology is open to other brands too. 

“Today in the bike industry, component makers sell to bike companies who hang parts on frames and sell you a complete bike,” says Randall Jacobs. “These companies struggle with electronics so you end up with aftermarket add ons and a Frankenbike. 

“With OpenBike we provide an open platform that solves power, control and connectivity, making it easy for the industry to deliver the bicycles of your dreams.”

https://openbike.com/

cloud
Marin
technology
Randall Jacobs
Mat Brett

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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14 comments

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CharlesMagne | 8 years ago
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I think it's a really good idea for a lot of people, particularly those who aren't so Lycra oriented. People will see it as bringing bicycles in line with modern cars and hopefully that will entice more onto two wheels. A single system is often preferable to a fragmented approach (thinking bb standards) for initial uptake at least, regardless of how open it is. As Randall pointed out, electronics are often a poor afterthought with bikes because companies don't have the skill sets to deal with them properly. 

Best of luck Randall.

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horizontal dropout | 8 years ago
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I suspect the bit that will be left out is proper security. Cars, pacemakers and all those domestic items which, like this system, have computers and wireless connections are being hacked and shown to be insecure. while the companies claim their systems are secure.

Imagine riding in the dark and suddenly your lights are remotely turned off by a hacker following in a car. Or putting on the power to cross a busy junction and you are remotely put into low gear. Ditto in a peloton.

Will the code be auditable by outsiders? If someone reverse engineers and finds a vulnerability which they contact OpenBike about, will OpenBike publicly thank them, reward them and quickly close the bug? Or will they sue them and leave the bug in place?

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bikebot replied to horizontal dropout | 8 years ago
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horizontal dropout wrote:

I suspect the bit that will be left out is proper security. Cars, pacemakers and all those domestic items which, like this system, have computers and wireless connections are being hacked and shown to be insecure. while the companies claim their systems are secure.

Imagine riding in the dark and suddenly your lights are remotely turned off by a hacker following in a car. Or putting on the power to cross a busy junction and you are remotely put into low gear. Ditto in a peloton.

Will the code be auditable by outsiders? If someone reverse engineers and finds a vulnerability which they contact OpenBike about, will OpenBike publicly thank them, reward them and quickly close the bug? Or will they sue them and leave the bug in place?

One battery = not wireless.

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horizontal dropout replied to bikebot | 8 years ago
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bikebot wrote:

horizontal dropout wrote:

I suspect the bit that will be left out is proper security. Cars, pacemakers and all those domestic items which, like this system, have computers and wireless connections are being hacked and shown to be insecure. while the companies claim their systems are secure.

Imagine riding in the dark and suddenly your lights are remotely turned off by a hacker following in a car. Or putting on the power to cross a busy junction and you are remotely put into low gear. Ditto in a peloton.

Will the code be auditable by outsiders? If someone reverse engineers and finds a vulnerability which they contact OpenBike about, will OpenBike publicly thank them, reward them and quickly close the bug? Or will they sue them and leave the bug in place?

One battery = not wireless.

 

"It also allows different components to share access to apps and the cloud."

Wireless as in internet connectivity, ie remote access. Same as the cars, pacemakers and other devices. But also wireless as in wireless electronic shifting when that gets added into the system.

And to add to my original comment, cycle hate will make these devices an attractive target. There is huge concern about the lack of security in the "internet of things" and most security experts will tell you it's better to build security in from the start than to bolt it on afterwards. But of course it's much cheaper for manufacturers to claim security than actually implement it.

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bikebot replied to horizontal dropout | 8 years ago
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horizontal dropout wrote:

 

"It also allows different components to share access to apps and the cloud."

Wireless as in internet connectivity, ie remote access. Same as the cars, pacemakers and other devices. But also wireless as in wireless electronic shifting when that gets added into the system.

And to add to my original comment, cycle hate will make these devices an attractive target. There is huge concern about the lack of security in the "internet of things" and most security experts will tell you it's better to build security in from the start than to bolt it on afterwards. But of course it's much cheaper for manufacturers to claim security than actually implement it.

If it's connected in real time to a smart phone,  complete security is near impossible as smart phones are already a vulnerable attack vector. I should mention I'm a developer, and I've built security and encryption systems in the past. Real world potential for malicious attack in that scenario is still very low, because it's an awful lot of effort and carpet tacks cost pennies. To explain...

//imgs.xkcd.com/comics/security.png)

Because they make a specific point of a central battery, my assumption is that electronic shifting would be a cabled standard as is Di2. As unified power management seems to be the key selling point, there's no advantage to wireless. If there's any power cable, you simply modulate the bus signal on top of it.

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Randall | 8 years ago
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Hello bikebot,

The platform remains under development, and the various standards, interfaces, and protocols are being co-developed with our early collaborators.

Proprietary standards have stifled innovation and shut-out competition in our industry. You may be right about certain (though not all) of the dominant players having little interest in open standards, but that doesn't really matter. Part of the magic of an open platform is that anybody can make any one of the peripherals without making the whole system. We've spoken with a number of companies working on each of the various components but who are struggling with electronics, software, and other challenges that OpenBike solves for.

As for indicators, our research suggests a market for them, and they are of course just one of the early features. What would you most like to see built on the platform?

- Randall Jacobs, OpenBike CEO

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bikebot replied to Randall | 8 years ago
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Randall wrote:

The platform remains under development, and the various standards, interfaces, and protocols are being co-developed with our early collaborators.

That doesn't quite answer the question. Is this an open standard? In other words, is your business model integration or technology licensing?

Randall wrote:

As for indicators, our research suggests a market for them, and they are of course just one of the early features.

Probably. There's also a small market for sirens that make your bike sound like a Police car. 3

Randall wrote:

What would you most like to see built on the platform?

Well that's an easy one. I've wanted a particular type of alarm system for my everyday bike, and as no one seems to build it I'm going to hack my own this summer!

I want a motion sensor built into the bike, that will notify me when I'm in a nearby office or shop.  There are a few solutions for this appearing, such as the new Fly12 camera/light has this built in.  But the problem is they all use Bluetooth which at 2.4ghz can barely penetrate a sheet of paper.

I've order a few different 433mhz modules to test, which I think is the way to go for any useful range.  As a stretch goal, I may later try some sort of integration with the rear light (accelerometer based brake light a-la see sense).

 

 

 

 

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bikebot | 8 years ago
1 like

In what way is this open? I don't see any publication of standards, interfaces or protocols?

As a bike and electronics fettler, I'd love genuine open standards. But the industry is dominated by Shimano, SRAM and Campag who have zero interest in opening their proprietary standards. The closest we have to a universal standard is Ant+, which is of course also propietary.

I don't see what's the lighting system offers over a dynamo system now.  You can dump the indicators straight into the same landfill as every other system that's failed to sell in the last thirty or so years.

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Randall | 8 years ago
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Appreciate everyone's comments. Some responses:

  • multifrag - The lighting system is merely the first package we are building on the platform. It is extensible to other electronic peripherals like displays, derailleurs, e-bike components...
  • matthewn5 - Hence the importance of the robust power management and delivery infrastructure that the platform delivers. You'll know in advance if you're running low, and we can dim lights and restrict non-critical features to get you home well before the battery dies. TomJ is correct that a dynamo can be added so that you never need to think about charging, and as ConcordeCX suggests, a fresh battery can easily be swapped in.
  • arowland - Glad you enjoyed that line ;  )

- Randall Jacobs, OpenBike CEO

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arowland | 8 years ago
1 like

“in tandem”

<Titter>

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matthewn5 | 8 years ago
2 likes

One battery? Means all your lights fail at once, instead of just one.

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TomJ replied to matthewn5 | 8 years ago
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matthewn5 wrote:

One battery? Means all your lights fail at once, instead of just one.

Nae drama: hub dynamo.  

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ConcordeCX replied to matthewn5 | 8 years ago
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matthewn5 wrote:

One battery? Means all your lights fail at once, instead of just one.

 

carry a spare battery

 

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multifrag | 8 years ago
2 likes

Not sure why you need an operating system with micro controller for what a simple switch and ac to dc converter can do...

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